Unmanned Marine Vehicles: Perception, Planning, Control and Swarm

Dear Colleagues,

Marine transportation and traffic are pivotal aspects of global connectivity, drawing significant global scholarly attention. Within this domain, unmanned marine vehicles emerge as crucial assets; this includes ships, boats, underwater vehicles, underwater gliders, etc. These vehicles are often empowered by advancements in navigation, control, and sensing technologies, and have the potential to redefine the possibilities of marine exploration and operations. This Special Issue, titled Unmanned Marine Vehicles: Perception, Planning, Control and Swarm, serves as a platform for the latest advancements in this dynamic field.

Authors are invited to contribute research focusing on perception technologies, planning algorithms, control strategies, and sensing approaches tailored for unmanned marine vehicles. This collection aims to showcase interdisciplinary efforts in order to drive innovation in autonomous marine systems. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the environmental perception of marine vehicles, the autonomous navigation and control of marine vehicles, multi-agent technologies, and efficiency assessment and testing.

This Special Issue, titled Unmanned Marine Vehicles: Perception, Planning, Control and Swarm, has played a crucial role in intelligent maritime navigation, which is undoubtedly one of the most focal topics in marine research. This defines the future direction of marine research and promotes the development of various industries and fields.

This Special Issue aims to explore the advancements, challenges, and applications of unmanned autonomous maritime vehicles., as well to provide insights into their role in enhancing efficiency, safety, intelligence level, and sustainability in maritime operations.

The development of unmanned autonomous maritime vehicles traces back to the late 20th century, with early prototypes primarily being remote-controlled. Over time, advancements in technology, particularly in artificial intelligence, sensor systems, and communication networks, have propelled these vehicles into sophisticated autonomous systems which are capable of independently executing complex missions.

Cutting-edge research in this field includes enhancing the autonomy and intelligence of maritime vehicles through the use of machine learning and neural networks, thus improving their navigational capabilities in challenging environments, and integrating novel sensor technologies for more precise data collection and analysis.

We are seeking original research papers that delve into the design, development, applications, and future prospects of unmanned autonomous maritime vehicles. Papers should offer valuable insights into technological innovations, application challenges, as well as emphasizing the broader impact of these vehicles on various areas relating to perception, planning, and control and swarm.

Prof. Dr. Yunsheng Fan
Prof. Dr. Yan Yan
Dr. Dongdong Mu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• intelligent agents and multi-agent systems
• intelligent control of ships and ocean vehicles
• intelligent control of underwater vehicles
• decision inference problem for multi-agent systems
• intelligent perception of unmanned systems
• unmanned system game confrontation
• image processing for ocean navigation
• path planning and collision avoidance technology
• fluid dynamics calculation of unmanned aerial vehicles
• control of unmanned marine vehicles in special scenarios
• field verification of unmanned systems
• development trend of unmanned systems in the future